I think my colleague Frantz André gave a good description of the situation he is experiencing as a helper.
As we speak, there are people outside with no coat, no clothing, who haven't eaten in three days. This phenomenon is very concentrated around the hotels leased by the federal government in Saint-Laurent, Ahuntsic or Bordeaux-Cartierville, and is now spilling over into La Petite-Patrie and Villeray. We are talking about thousands of people.
Last week, there were nearly 5,000 people in temporary accommodation, both federal and Quebec. They stay there for about three to four weeks. Then, once they leave the temporary accommodation, they are left on their own. So they go out and knock on every door. There are fewer and fewer doors to knock on.
With a cheque of $750 per adult, they can't find housing or feed a family. There are a lot of children among that number. We are also seeing a significant rise in the number of pregnant women, who are unable to see a doctor.
I call that a humanitarian emergency. Governments have to take responsibility and put resources in place, as they do in the case of natural disasters.